Boehner to conference: New plan 'not perfect'

Speaker John Boehner sold the details of a two-step plan to raise the debt ceiling on Monday to his conference, conceding that it is “not perfect,” but urged their support — even in the face of staunch opposition from Senate Democratic leaders and President Barack Obama.

During a closed-door meeting with House Republicans, Boehner tempered expectations saying it is not identical to the Cut, Cap and Balance Act the House approved last week, but it’s a plan he says can clear both chambers of Congress without raising taxes.

Story Continued Below

But in a sign of the challenges to come, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), chair of the conservative Republican Study Committee, implored leadership to go back to the Cut, Cap, Balance bill that failed in the Senate last week.

“Washington wants a deal. Americans want a solution,” Jordan said in a statement. “The Senate should resume debate on the Cut, Cap, and Balance Act, amend it if necessary, and pass it, so we can provide the American people a real solution.”

The White House also objected to Boehner’s plan, urging the House to take up Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s package instead. Obama is scheduled to speak at 9 p.m. Monday night and Boehner plans to give a response.

“Senator Reid’s plan is a reasonable approach that should receive the support of both parties, and we hope the House Republicans will agree to this plan so that America can avoid defaulting on our obligations for the first time in our history,” White House spokesman Jay Carney said in a release. “The ball is in their court.”

If Boehner can get his plan through the House, he is hoping that Senate Democrats and the White House may have no choice but to accept the proposal, since it would be the only viable option when the deadline to raise the debt ceiling arrives next week.

The Boehner plan would require two votes on short-term debt ceiling increases, with $1 trillion worth of cuts up-front and the creation of a new 12-member congressional committee to recommend deeper cuts in the future, according to sources. It will include language that pushes Congress to vote on a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution, which Boehner said should happen between October and the end of the year.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor said he’s “150 percent” behind Boehner’s plan and said it calls the president’s bluff. “It’s all the proverbial sandwich,” Cantor said of a debt limit hike.

The two-step proposal was the focus of tense negotiations with House and Senate leaders over the weekend, but talks broke down amid Democratic demands that the debt ceiling be increased through the end of 2012. On Monday, Boehner told House Republicans in a closed meeting that Reid even agreed to the framework but backed out — a characterization Reid’s office denies.

The talks remain fluid, and it’s possible both sides could end up shifting their tactics.

But Reid continues to insist that a short-term increase in the debt ceiling is a “non-starter” in the Senate, meaning the two sides could end up in a stalemate on the eve of economic default.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said on the floor Monday that the plan had sign off from Reid during marathon negotiations over the weekend, but it was shot down by President Barack Obama Sunday night. But Reid denied that was the case, saying Republicans continued to insist on a short-term debt-ceiling hike, which he strongly opposed.